Skullpresser—a band that finally delivers the intensity you’d probably envisioned before you first hit “play” on a Skullcrusher track—is returning with their second EP of authority-defying metallic hardcore at the beginning of September. The recently formed outfit featuring members of The Wonder Years, Mannequin Pussy, and other bands from Philadelphia’s fruitful punk scene shared the project’s title track last month, and today we get to hear the five-track EP’s centerpiece, “Born to Please.”
As you can imagine, the title is tongue-in-cheek as vocalist Jared Birdeye growls his displeasure about a life of draining work and various other pointless struggles inherent to capitalist function while the backing band shreds through two minutes of blistering punk. “‘Born to Please’ delves into the harsh reality of being born into a life of relentless work and struggle, while the wealthy profit from our labor,” the band shares. “The song is fast and dark, culminating in a powerful, crushing ending.” Just like life! Hmm, too dark?
The track arrives with an eerie black-and-white video created by Bob Sweeney that enters the same old-Hollywood nightmare space long explored by Guy Maddin (be forewarned it opens with a childbirth—apt for the song title, perhaps less so for a public co-working space). Check it out below, and pre-order Positions of Power here (the vinyl release also includes last year’s self-titled EP).
